Quoteworthy -- "Betfair has reasonable course to believe that some of the participants in the racing industry and/or one or more totalisators, are a party to an agreement, arrangement or understanding and/or are engaging in unilateral or collusive conduct for the purpose and effect of which is to inhibit and prevent the entry of Betfair and betting exchanges."
- An excerpt from a letter sent by Betfair's Sydney-based legal team, Gilbert and Tobin, to the chairman and directors of the Australian Racing Board, requesting details of all correspondence, briefings and minutes from meetings in which Betfair was mentioned. Betfair is threatening legal action against the Australian racing industry for restraint of trade, and its lawyers have already launched preliminary action against TABs, racing officials and race clubs across the country. Betfair is apparently looking into whether certain factions of the racing industry may have shown an illegal bias against it or possibly even colluded to prevent it from establishing a business in the country.
More on the Pending Legal Action -- Meanwhile, the Australian Racing Board has publicly asked for the Tasmanian government to reveal more details about its negotiations with Betfair and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL). One little reported fact about which the board is concerned is that PBL has paid the Tasmanian Government $2.5 million for a five-year gaming license that it does not use. "The racing industry is entitled to know what are the considerations that are being taken into account and is entitled to be consulted," Racing Board CEO Andrew Harding stated. "Our future indeed is what is at stake here."
Internet Safety -- A new survey conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) and federal government body NetAlert found that nearly half of all Australian children have been exposed to pornography, gambling, obscene language or violence while surfing the Internet. The report also found that about one in every four children had been contacted by a stranger, usually via spam e-mail, while surfing online. NetAlert and the ABA plan to develop a series of initiatives to educate parents, teachers and children about Internet safety.
Heathorns -- Interactive Gaming Holdings Plc has signed an agreement with I-gaming software provider Orbis Technology whereby Orbis will provide its OpenBet platform and a call center for IGH's newly acquired Heathorns' sports book. The platform is slated to go live in the third quarter of 2005.
Welcome Aboard -- Costa Rica-based betting company BetOnSports has welcomed two new directors to its senior management team. Clive Archer, a former director of Carmen Media, joins the company as director of operations and marketing, while Richard Creed joins the company as commercial director.
DDoS Attack -- Square Enix, the owner of interactive fantasy role playing game "Final Fantasy XI," revealed last week that a disruption in the game's operation was the result of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. The company has not stated whether the attack was accompanied by an extortion demand. Final Fantasy XI has over 550,000 subscribers who pay $12.95 each month for access. Rich Miller, a spokesperson for British Internet monitoring firm Netcraft, says that online games may soon become the next target for DDoS attacks because they have large numbers of subscribers and because downtime can be severely detrimental to them.